Another view
To the editor:
Catching up on my end-of-season correspondence:
First, kudos to The Breeze for its April 10 editorial calling out Gov. DeSantis’ latest overreach in the guise of protecting us Floridians by creating an authority to designate any organization critical to his administration as “terrorists.” Really. The editors accurately compared this legislation to the McCarthy era witch hunts.
Next, a letter by George Starner (April 3) objecting to The Breeze coverage of a presentation by former ambassador Peter Galbraith, which was critical of our current (undeclared) war in Iran. The writer warned readers that because Ambassador Galbraith is a “long-time dyed-in-the-wool Democrat” his opinions are not unbiased. Who holds an unbiased political opinion today? No one I know, including myself; certainly not the letter writer, who refers to “Obama and Biden… incompetent attempts to buy cooperation with pallets of cash.” Quote Fox propaganda much? The writer also claimed Galbraith “admits the U.S. succeeded in eliminating Iran’s nuclear program.” Not so much: Galbraith actually said Trump succeeded “…like Bush eliminated Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.”
Finally, in her March 27 letter, Karen Davis opined that a resurgence of play-based learning in pre-K classrooms is questionable as this type of instruction is inferior to “rigorous academic content”… such as “worksheets and structured routines” purportedly backed by research. I was unable to find any. In contrast, there is a wealth of research supporting the positive impact of student-centric education pioneered by Maria Montessori over 100 years ago.
The letter goes on, “…returning to a play-based learning style”…in which “children learn naturally…(where) thematic play centers foster development through hands-on experiences…does not “mirror the academic focus and structured routines of elementary school, which may leave children blindsided when they move on.” Perhaps the problem lies with traditional post pre-K instruction?
The writer does note “integration or balance” between the two approaches is desirable because “… preserving ample time for play and relationship building is essential for young children.” This implies “play” for young children is unstructured “recess” and not the actual vehicle for learning. The Florida Office of Early Learning clearly disagrees stating: “Play is a child’s work.”
Looking at the current Florida Educational System websites we find state spending is 44th in the nation, with teachers paid $15,000 a year below the national average. Although Florida does have Voluntary Pre-K it is limited to 4-year-olds, three hours a day, serving only 65% of eligible children. There is no Voluntary Pre-K funding for 3-year-olds. For the fall 2024 school year only 43% of ALL entering children were deemed “ready” for kindergarten level instruction. In contrast, 72% of the children who attended only one year of preschool were “ready.” Not ideal, but better.
Looking at the other end of Florida’s public education, the 2024-25 high school graduation rate was 92%. On the surface this sounds great. However, looking at the “college readiness” of that graduating class 59% were proficient in English language skills and 29% were proficient in math.
These are the results for Florida’s current teacher-centric education system. If you are satisfied then sail on. If you think we should be doing a better job of educating our children then get involved. Beware: It’s going to cost more.
Billy Herman
Cape Coral